Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1315831
74 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k j a n u a r y/ fe b r u a r y 2 0 2 1 all of our eager hands to help. How do we explain the fact that the world hasn't fallen apart without us? I have no doubt about the efficacy of our work, and the great things it does. But I also think we need to acknowledge a huge and often ignored part of why our clients love us: because of our presence. Yes, our techniques are great. But our presence may be just as important. Because we give each client our undivided attention in the midst of days that are nearly always divided. Because we listen. Because we care. That alone is a balm for the soul. That alone soothes aches. The absence of our touch has not caused awful things to happen. And we therapists are not alone. In an interesting corollary, preliminary findings suggest that all those weeks when people were skipping regular doctor visits didn't have much negative impact on the BOGDAN DIRICĂ/PEXELS average person's health. 1 Yes, there are unfortunately some people who needed medical help that did not get it and have suffered or died as a result. But for the vast majority of relatively healthy people—in other words, for many of your clients—not going to the doctor for a while hasn't made life any worse. In my opinion, that doesn't make our work—or the work of doctors—any less valuable. But it does mean we need to complicate our understanding of how our work works. The longer I practice, the more I am convinced that the reason my clients feel better after they get off my table is less because of what I do and more because of what I offer. I offer my presence. I offer my encouragement. I offer my belief that they can feel better. That they don't have to feel victim to their own aches and pains. That they can rewrite their own narrative of the experience of living inside their body. That they can find an exhale that is a little slower, longer, and easier. That by breathing a little easier, and